Weekend Round-up!

This iLog totally made me smile. What do you know? Lag BaOmer meets 2011! (Humor aside, this wooden iPad charging dock would make for a fabulous Fathers Day gift, don't you think?)

Here are some other links from around the web that I have been meaning to share:

- A shocking and most fantabulous Target collaboration!!!

- Honest Pinocchio - most charming of classroom supplies.

- San Francisco audacity!

- Summer decorating tips from the pros via Anthropologie.

- Most awesome baby moccasins: gilded leather + neons stitching.

- H.D. Buttercup's "Almost-Giving-it-Away Sale"!

- Shout-out of thanks to those creative and childish minds at Classic-Play for the mention!! :)

Also, if you are in the greater Los Angeles area, my supermom of a sister-in-law's (Esther Schwartz) closest-to-homeschooling preschool, Gan Chai, is now open for 2011-2012 registration!! If you want the benefits of homeschooling + the social and developmental achievements of a preschool that will help instill independence and cultivate young jewish pride - visit Gan Chai online for more information. Freida is a die-hard fan! :)

Wishing you all a lovely weekend! Enjoy the food + fire festivities!!

Princess Dough

We here on the west coast have been stricken with wind, rain, and sleet these past few days (what happened to April showers??), limiting springtime play to indoors. While I usually feel confident enough with my arsenal of indoor-activities to stay home-bound for at least a few days, I was sort of at a loss for what to do with Freida this week. She's really growing up, thank God, and she's not as easily distracted with common goods as she used to be. As the rain continued to come down well into the morning, and the DaddyFroo decided to stay and work from home to avoid the weather-exasperated commute, I really had no interest in schlepping Freida out in the rain and had to come up with some no-screen entertainment fast. Cooking together always seems to make the morning fly by, but I like to reserve that for Friday (when I actually need to cook with her). Making play-dough was a close second because of it's cook time + play time, but I knew she was well over play-dough being exciting. So I broke out the pink and the shimmery. It's quite amazing what the interpretation of a single word can do: "princess". Hot pink food coloring + glitter = at least an hour of happy independent play (she even wanted to re-visit this activity the day after!). Thanks for the idea Shterni!!

P.S. I used this play-dough recipe, and here's more ideas for play-dough play.

Play on the Lawn

Luca & Company have become well-known in the baby industry via their FunPod (seriously? step-stool, anyone?) for which they have won numerous awards, but their fame has just grown throughout the design blogesphere due to their IVI Carpets; a play-mat - revamped. So revamped in fact, that it is likely unlike anything you have ever seen. It's what happened when dollhouse and Brio crossed the road...

And it's available today at a reduced rate ($112) via the Gilt Groupe.

Read a Book.

I'm totally smitten by this campaign for reading!! Fantastically (in the literal sense of the word!) genius!!

Here's their point:

"When one reads books, he/she starts living it and identifies (or not) with main hero. These print ads for the Mint Vinetu bookstore, which sells lots of classics, focuses on the idea of becoming someone else. And provokes people to try on different personas."

Awesome.

P.S. I just started the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated - if you haven't seen that film - do so this weekend!!), and I'm totally stoked to get good and into it!! Don't you just love being involved with a novel??

Banana Wraps

My mom used to make these for us when we were little, and Freida goes nuts for them!! Some people call these "banana dogs" or "banana bites", but Freida pretty much dubbed it the "banana wrap" - which works. :)

This yummy little treat is quite actually a full and well balanced meal for a little one (or a big one, for that matter). It's anatomy is rather basic: tortilla, peanut butter, honey, banana. Bingo.

(Obviously, the point of this is a healthy on-the-go snack/meal i.e. go with whole wheat wraps and natural peanut butter!!)

Just spread the PB...

Drizzle some honey...

Add a ripe banana and wrap it up!

If you pinch/fold the bottom end, you can give it to them like this (banana dog-style):

Or you can then slice it into chunks (banana bites), and bump up the fun with some chopsticks!

This nutrient-rich line-up makes it a full meal due to the soluble fiber in the whole wheat wrap, abundant protein + fat in the peanut butter, vitamin/mineral-laden honey, plus the carbs/fiber/vitamin C/potassium of the banana.

Especially in the summer, when the activity level (and consequently, the exhaustion) is cranked up a notch, a well-fed child equals a well-behaved child. And that, my dears, equals a happy mama!